There’s nothing like an interior and exterior that seamlessly talks to one another. Despite the weather never being that forgiving in the UK, outdoor kitchens have grown in popularity since the pandemic. Creating an extension of your home, and an escape from daily life.
Outdoor kitchens can be as budget, or as lavish as you like. Undoubtedly, when the sun does shine, it will be a decision that you won’t ever regret. Get inspired with these stunning outdoor kitchen ideas for that project you know you want to start!
23 Outdoor Kitchen Ideas To Enhance Your Entertaining This Summer
1.BBQ Shack
A BBQ is usually at the top of peoples lists when it comes to entertaining in your garden during the warmer months. Using your BBQ as the main item in your outdoor kitchen will allow you to build your space around it accordingly.
We love this DIY BBQ shack which has been created under a pergola. Add a worktop and drawers to maximise preparation and shelving space for decorative items or cooking essentials.
2. Bring A Natural Feel With Slat Wood Panelling
Natural slat wood panelling has massively grown in popularity over the last few years for both interior and exterior projects.
Instead of fence panels, consider this for a slightly more luxurious feel. It creates a great foundation for an outdoor kitchen. For an industrial feel focus on darker shades like charcoal and navy blue.
3. Create A Neutral Scheme
A neutral colour scheme remains popular in 2024 for interiors, but make it an extension of your home and extend it into your outdoor kitchen.
We love the Trail Quartzita Outdoor Tiles shown below which offer a natural timeworn appearance. It creates a sturdy and workable base for an outdoor kitchen. If it’s your forever home, it’s worth spending that bit more money on quality materials that you know will last.
4. Make The Most of A Corner
Corner spaces are notoriously tricky to tacky and yet it’s what makes it perfect for creating an L shaped outdoor kitchen. In the kitchen shown below, it feels like such an intentional use of space and like it’s always been there.
We love that blend of both the inside and outside, with gorgeous plants and flowers which help to frame the kitchen.
5. Create A Outdoor Preparation Area
If you’re building an outdoor kitchen in the UK you have to weight up how much you think the space is actually going to be used. Instead of going all out, you might want to create a similar setup to the below which is more of a preparation area with sink.
This creates a versatile area in the summer which can be used for dining at, and as the link between your kitchen inside and outside.
6. Mediterranean Vibes
It’s hard not to fall in love with this ultra laidback yet Mediterranean style of outdoor kitchen. The rough render finish is minimal yet easy to clean for a new summer season.
The compartments are perfect for styling up and doubling up as a log store throughout the year.
7. Create An Everything Kitchen Station
If you’re going to the effort to create an outdoor kitchen, you might as well make it one that does everything you want.
You don’t need to spend a fortune for a setup like this. Create a single run unit like shown below, you can make it as budget as you like if you create it with a wooden frame. Use a space to build your BBQ into it and add shelving to the wall to create that outdoor kitchen aesthetic.
8. DIY Kitchen
You really can create an outdoor kitchen on budget, and the best way to do that is to build it with wood. There’s plenty of DIY guides and YouTube videos out there to help you create something similar.
Wood can be slightly transient, especially in wet weather, so it’s always important to weigh up the pros and cons of a material before getting stuck into it.
9. An Indoor, Outdoor Sheltered Kitchen
If you’ve wondered what a seamless indoor, outdoor kitchen looks like, take inspiration from the below!
If you’re worried about not getting the use out of the space with unpredictable summer weather, the best way to beat it is to create a sheltered pergola above your outdoor kitchen. It suddenly creates a space that can be used all year round and it will stop your outdoor kitchen from weathering so quickly.
We love the black finish on the kitchen and pergola, really grounding this beautiful outdoor space.
10. Build Into The Architectural Details
If you’re lucky enough to have architectural details in your garden like below, it provides the perfect platform for an outdoor kitchen that feels at home in the space.
A gorgeous area for your BBQ and a few tools may be all you need for a fun summer of entertaining.
11. Double It Up As An Outdoor Wooden Log Store
When designing your outdoor kitchen it’s best to think about the functionality of the space and how it can be used for more than just a place to cook in the summer.
If you have an indoor wood burning fire, a smart way to maximise your space is to include a covered area to store your wooden logs. Not only does it aesthetically look great, but it’s such a handy place to store logs outside of the house.
12. Have The Space? Create A U Shaped Outdoor Kitchen
Large garden spaces are a bit more sympathetic for a large scale outdoor kitchen. This U shaped kitchen below is the ultimate outdoor space which virtually allows you to do everything you could want from a kitchen.
The cabinetry is finished in the same wood slat panels as the fence which creates a kitchen which looks intentional to the space, rather than sticking out like an eyesore. The idea is that you should pick sympathetic materials and colours that give that distinction from an indoor kitchen.
13. Build Under A Canopy To Extend Your Kitchen Use
Whether you opt for a pergola or a canopy, this will extend your outdoor kitchen use past the summer months. If you build one in a space like this you just have to be careful with how the light will feel during the day.
Maximise darker spaces with wall lights and solar lighting to aid your preparation.
14. Use A Pergola For The Structure
This half pergola structure makes for the perfect base for a mini outdoor kitchen, affordable and it looks great!
Create a mini tiled splash back and use wood to build the base. Add a wooden worktop or tile this too to create an outdoor kitchen built on a budget.
15. Create An Enclosure For A Cosy, Indoor Feel
As far as outdoor kitchens go, this is definitely one of our favourites!
A pergola structure can help you to recreate something similar, with those walls it creates a cosy, indoor like structure. We love the addition of the shutter windows which really makes it feel like an elevated indoor kitchen.
16. Use A Pre-built Kitchen Island For Your Structure
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your indoor kitchen. You can buy a lot of pre-built kitchen islands with wheels which makes them such a versatile unit. You can create a static area, or just choose to wheel it out during the warmer months.
If you want to create a more static area, get a sink and running water put in to maximise your kitchen offering.
17. Focus On The BBQ
We’re a huge fan of Poly’s garden designs and this is no different! With a fabulous enclosed feel with the greenery, this outdoor kitchen looks so at home.
The BBQ is centre stage here, accompanied by a generous worktop and storage space to help with preparation and dining into the evening.
18. Keep It Minimal With Grey
Effortlessly blend your outdoor kitchen into your existing garden space by adopting a similar colour on your cabinetry to that on your fencing. It will elevate the space, but it won’t stick out like a sore thumb.
This sleek, minimal look is perfect for creating a relaxed yet luxurious feeling outdoor kitchen.
19. A Multifunctional Kitchen Space
Anything you can do to maximise the usability of your outdoor kitchen space will massively enhance your experience during the summer and beyond.
This kitchen ticks all the boxes for us, a BBQ station, pizza oven, log store, storage and a place to sit and entertain guests.
20. Sage Green & Red Brick.
As we’ve already mentioned, it’s always worth being sympathetic about materials and colours you use in an outdoor space to help the area feel intentional.
Sage green is always a perfect winner in our eyes, lending itself to the outside world but also delivering a restorative feel. The sage green structure onto red brick creates such a natural, yet beautiful colour contrast.
21. DIY Build For Under £500
We stumbled across this DIY outdoor kitchen build on Instagram that came in just under £500 to build, amazing!
There are even cheaper ways to go down the outdoor kitchen path depending on the wood you use, whether you leave them unpainted and of course, how big you choose to make the area.
22. Build A Kitchen Structure With Block Work
Wood tends to be one of the most favourable materials to build an outdoor kitchen because it’s the cheapest, but building with block work certainly runs as a second favourite.
Block work can either be painted to keep costs down, or rendered for a more long term finish. Simply top with a worktop for a stunning outdoor kitchen space.
23. Use A Log Store As Your Base For A BBQ/Oven
Or, why not keep things really simple and just create a workable storage unit for logs and place your BBQ or pizza oven above it?
If you’re strapped for space but really like the idea of outdoor entertaining, this is a happy medium that still looks great.
